Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems; and, more particularly, to communications to and from wireless communication devices within single user, multiple user, multiple access, and/or multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communications.
Description of Related Art
Communication systems support wireless and wire lined communications between wireless and/or wire lined communication devices. The systems can range from national and/or international cellular telephone systems, to the Internet, to point-to-point in-home wireless networks and can operate in accordance with one or more communication standards. For example, wireless communication systems may operate in accordance with one or more standards including, but not limited to, IEEE 802.11x (where x may be various extensions such as a, b, n, g, etc.), Bluetooth, advanced mobile phone services (AMPS), digital AMPS, global system for mobile communications (GSM), etc., and/or variations thereof.
In some instances, wireless communication is made between a transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) using single-input-single-output (SISO) communication. Another type of wireless communication is single-input-multiple-output (SIMO) in which a single TX processes data into radio frequency (RF) signals that are transmitted to a RX that includes two or more antennas and two or more RX paths.
Yet an alternative type of wireless communication is multiple-input-single-output (MISO) in which a TX includes two or more transmission paths that each respectively converts a corresponding portion of baseband signals into RF signals, which are transmitted via corresponding antennas to a RX. Another type of wireless communication is multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) in which a TX and RX each respectively includes multiple paths such that a TX parallel processes data using a spatial and time encoding function to produce two or more streams of data and a RX receives the multiple RF signals via multiple RX paths that recapture the streams of data utilizing a spatial and time decoding function.
Various communications in wireless communications are performed for various purposes. Regardless of the reason for such communications, such communications consume available bandwidth and occupy the communication medium. The prior art does not provide acceptably effective means by which the communication medium can be used most effectively while maximizing access to all wireless communication devices within such wireless communication systems.
In addition, within prior art communication systems, channel estimation, channel characterization, and/or other operations are performed to provide full and accurate understanding of a wireless communication channel to allow for effective communications. There continues to exist significant room in the prior art for improvement in the manner by which communications may be effectively made.